“Dear PoPville,

I found this little dog this morning on the corner of 18th & Allison St NW, in Crestwood. There is a little bit of a leash left on his collar, but no contact information. Planning to take him to a vet later today to see if he has a microchip, but also hoping someone will recognize him.

If you or anyone else knows anything about this little guy, please call me at 202.596.9763.”

Photo courtesy of BarracksRow.org

From a press release:

“On Saturday, September 24, 2011 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Barracks Row Fall Festival on Capitol Hill will transform two blocks of bustling 8th Street, SE, between E Street, SE, and I Street SE into a magical urban wonderland. Part All-American hometown fair and part only-in-DC happening, for one day each year Barracks Row/8th Street becomes a midway, full of music, food and favorite local traditions. The historic Home of the Commandants and Marine Barracks Washington will both be open for docent-led tours. Trapeze School New York aerialists, back for their second appearance at the festival, will pose on “silks” high above the street.

Also returning will be the Petting Zoo, sponsored by David Sheldon, Esq., where city kids meet farm animals. Starting at 7 a.m. chefs from all branches of the United States military will create culinary masterpieces in a black-box cook-off held in tents pitched near the gates of Marine Barracks Washington. A panel of hidden judges decides at the close of the festival who will be “Top Chef” in the US Military. Ending the day, the United States Marine Corps Silent Drill Platoon will perform their unforgettable rifle and marching routines.

Barracks Row is home to over 35 restaurants featuring cuisines from around the world. The ideal way to experience this festival is from a seat in one of the many leafy sidewalk cafes where you can sample the specials of day while watching the scene unfold. With an unprecedented number of 8th Street retailers participating this year, the festival also will be an excellent way to discover of the new generation of businesses on the corridor.”

Lost Society – located at 14th and U St, NW

From a press release:

“Boutique steakhouse Lost Society opens for Brunch this Sunday featuring mouth-watering platters like Banana French Toast, Roasted Pork with Fried Eggs and Hanger Steak with Hash Browns. Dive in to Executive Chef Joseph Evans’ favorite menu items, such as the delicious Southern Chicken Fried Steak, a tender 4-ounce filet served with peppered crème gravy or the Chicken & Waffles platter. Seafood lovers will achieve culinary bliss with the Oyster Po Boy sandwich made with local Virginia oysters. Carb-conscious patrons can order the medium-sized Rappahanock River oysters, served crisp with a light briny edge.

Lost Society elevates American food to high-brow gourmet cuisine and the new brunch menu will follow that trend. The signature filet mignon will carry through the brunch menu, however Sunday’s filet will feature a side of hash browns. The dish is garnished with compound butter and served with a side of hash.

Located in the heart of the historic U Street corridor, the restaurant is a cornerstone for glitterati and Capitalites. This summer both Sean Penn and Tara Reid were spotted at the boutique steakhouse just months after the opening, giving the restaurant the celebrity stamp of approval. Lost Society hosts many Washingtonian shakers and movers.”

See brunch menu here: Lost Society Brunch Menu

El Centro located at 1819 14th St, NW

From an email:

“Bottomless Brunch & Year Round Rooftop at El Centro

$35 | ALL YOU CAN EAT & DRINK

SATURDAYS & SUNDAYS | 11AM-3PM

Enjoy Unlimited Brunch Tacos &
Mexican Small Plates

Washed down with and endless selection of
Michilada, Bloody Marias and Seasonal
Agua Frescas Cocktail”

We judged the building as it looks now back in Oct. ’10. But at the H St, NE Festival last week I saw the renderings for the new plans that I’ll post below. The zoning application says:

“Application of Big City Development LLC, pursuant to 11 DCMR § ANC-6A 3103.2, for a variance from the floor are ratio requirements under subsection 771.2, a variance from the rear yard requirements under section 774, a variance from the off-street parking requirements under subsection 2101.1, and a variance from the loading requirements under subsection 2201.1, to allow the development of a new restaurant in the HS/C-2-A District at premises 1309 and 1311 H Street, N.E.”

So what do you think of the renderings:

If you have any fun or interesting animal/pet photos please shoot me an email to princeofpetworth(at)gmail(dot)com with ‘Animal Fix’ in the title and say what neighborhood you’re from or upload to the PoPville flickr pool with your pets name and neighborhood. I can’t guarantee I’ll get them all posted but I’ll do my best.

“Mugsly checking in from U Street”

“Pan from H Street decides to make herself comfortable”

“Chester – the one-eyed, watermelon-loving English Bulldog”

Update on Stray Pregnant Cat after the jump. (more…)

This rental is located at 4316 46th Street NW:

View Larger Map

The Craigslist ad says:

“Bright and spacious English Basement apartment for rent.

This clean and modern apartment features 1 large bedroom, and 1 full bathroom. It also features a large separate kitchen and living area. Washer/dryer is also included.

This apartment is ideally suited for a student or young professional as it is situated near American University, AU Law Center and Tenley Metro.”

$1200 sound right?

Photo by PoPville flickr user pablo.raw

“Dear PoPville,

Do your readers have any suggestions about where to take affordable classes in DC? What’s the best option- UDC, community centers, private organizations? I’m looking for something new, so the topic is less important at this point. Could be language, graphic design, art, etc. Just looking for some new hobbies. Thanks!”

We spoke about where to take some foreign language courses here.

Today I got an email from a group called Knowledge Commons DC – you can find info on their free classes here.

Does anyone else have suggestions for other spots and other general education classes?

Photo of ‘Tomatoes ready to be roasted’ by PoPville flickr user caroline.angelo

Follow PoPville on twitter here on facebook here and google+ here.

Photo of ‘mango lassi @himalayan heritage’ by PoPville flickr user bajidc

Thanks to all for sending emails with an update on the unidentified person found on Sept. 10th and a link to the Washington Post story:

“The death of Gaurav Gopalan, who was found dead in Columbia Heights on Sept. 10, has been ruled a homicide by the D.C. Office of the Medical Examiner.

Gopalan’s body was found by a passerby early on a Saturday morning in the 2600 block of 11th Street NW with no significant visible trauma. Although he lived a few blocks away on 13th Street NW, he remained unidentified for three days.”

This home is located at 1404 Crittenden St, NW:

View Larger Map

The flier says:

“Huge home. Bright, renovated, move-in ready home with lots of charm and modern conveniences. Wonderful windows on 3 sides, granite kitchen w/ eat-in area, 4 br’s and 3 full ba’s up. High ceiling, warm wood flrs, ceramic tiled bath’s and much more. Bonus renovated 1 br in-law w/ separate ent, full ba, great kit. Landscaped rear yard has extra storage. Huge windows = very bright.”

You can find more info here and photos here.

This 5 bed/4 bath is going for $675,000 though it’s been on the market for 178 days – what do you think it’ll go for?

Hawk N Dove, located at 329 Pennsylvania Avenue SE, will undergo major renovations in October. You can see details about the new plans here.

From an online auction site:

“Online Bidding Only

Starts Closing At: Friday, October 07, 2011 at 11:07 AM EDT
Inspection

Begins: Thursday, October 06, 2011 at 10:00 AM EDT
Ends: Thursday, October 06, 2011 at 4:00 PM EDT

Brief Description:

The Hawk ‘n’ Dove, Washington DC’s oldest Irish bar, in service since 1965, is closing and the owner will make a complete liquidation of the substantial decorative accents, furniture, fixtures and equipment.”

From their Web site:

For many years, Ms. JinJu Lee and her family have resided in the Washington D.C. Metropolitan Area, having immigrated from Seoul, Korea, and she always wanted to start an Asian restaurant. She always thought a city like Washington D.C. that prides itself as the Nation’s Capital, with its diverse fine cuisine, deserved authentic gourmet Korean and other Asian food at a reasonable price. During her recent trip to the West Coast, Ms. Lee found the perfect inspiration (Chef Roy Choi’s – Kogi BBQ) and platform (mobile gourmet trucks) to showcase her family’s secret recipes. These modern trucks are versatile and will provide the broad Washington D.C. community with access to great Asian food. Hence the idea for “AZNeats” was born.

AZNeats Vision

The AZNeats truck is a roaming Washington D.C. food Sense-AZN that serves up gourmet food that is sure to be a Tempt-AZN for your AZN cravings. The fusion of Asian flavors with our boneless beef AZN Kalbi (short ribs) has finally arrived! Imagine a fresh, never frozen, 100% premium boneless short ribs marinated in the sweet, succulent flavors of Korean BBQ (No MSG), cooked to perfection or our AZN Spicy Pork Bulgogi which will take your taste buds to a new level of WOW …”

You can see their menus here and find their location on twitter here.

Very interesting story from NBC Washington about crimes and bikes in Columbia Heights (via Mike DeBonis).

Is this a good way to combat an increase in cell phone snatchings by perpetrators on bikes?

MPD Commander Jacob Kishter comments on the story in the Shaw listserv:

“Its not a new policy or initiative but a misrepresented news story. Rest assured we will not be harassing bike riders.

We have noticed an increase in robberies where bicycles are being used and I want my officers to pay more attention to our known violent offenders who are committing these cases.

In fact we made a great robbery arrest last night involving one of our known offenders who was riding a bicycle which he did not own.”

Ed. Note: MPD also sends me an email asking folks to be careful using their smart phones at night – please remember to be alert. Also another reminder to not leave your purses on the backs of chairs while dining or leave electronic equipment like laptops unattended. I don’t mean to blame the victim in anyway here but there are preventative steps we can take to make us less of a target.

Hipchickindc is a licensed real estate broker. Her latest business venture can be seen here Unless specifically noted, neither she nor the company that she is affiliated with represented any of the parties or were directly involved in the transaction reported below. Unless otherwise noted, the source of information is Metropolitan Regional Information Systems (MRIS), which is the local multiple listing system. Information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

Featured Property: 391 Rhode Island Ave NW
Legal Subdivision: LeDroit Park
Advertised Subdivision per Listing: LeDroit Park
Original List Price: $955,000.
List Price at Contract: $799,000.
List Date: 02/20/2011
Days on Market: 180
Settled Sales Price: $850,000.
Settlement Date: 09/21/2011
Seller Subsidy: $0.
Bank Owned?: No Short Sale? No
Type Of Financing: Cash

Original post is: here.

The listing can be seen: here.

This was never actually offered up as an official “Good Deal or Not” (GDoN) post, however, PoP’s post from 08/09/11 (linked above) titled “Frazier’s Funeral Home for Sale in Ledroit Park” garnered a lot of interest. As several commenters noted, the building had housed the Frazier’s Funeral Home business for many decades and is known for its love-it-or-hate-it formstone and bright blue awnings. The very visible property is located at the well traveled intersection of Florida Ave NW, Rhode Island Ave NW, and 4th St NW. Apparently, as recently as 2007, the business had been operating, although, not without some challenges.

Some discussion came about regarding the generational aspect of neighborhood funeral businesses. Typically, they are grand properties and like many generational neighborhood businesses, are rapidly disappearing. Hall Brothers Funeral Home is located a couple of blocks to the west of the subject property at 619 and 621 Florida Avenue NW. 621 Florida Ave NW sold in 2005. 619 Florida Ave NW, which was the parlor (probably viewing and visiting) part of the home, sold in 2009 and is currently on the market for over a million dollars (unfortunately, with no interior pics or virtual tour). This PoP post shows 621 on the left and 619 on the right.

Continues after the jump. (more…)

First Sparky’s Cafe closes then Cafe 14U and now this…

Yesterday at 5pm I got the following sad press release:

“Logan Circle’s Mid City Caffe has announced that it will be closing for business. The final day of normal operation will be September 30, 2011 with limited hours of operation on October 1. The café was opened in 2009 by a pair of entrepreneurs who turned the interior of the former auto-body shop into a comfortable environment for the neighborhood’s residents to work, relax and socialize.

Unfortunately, the second-story location outside the downtown core proved underperforming. Limited accessibility restricted morning commuter and daytime foot-traffic, and while the café was blessed with a coterie of dedicated regulars, ultimately the volume simply was not there.

Known particularly as a gathering place for the neighborhood’s freelancers and creative professionals, Mid City Caffe proudly served coffee from Counter Culture Coffee and Caffe Pronto prepared by an expertly trained staff. The café’s closing will leave a gap in the expanding, but nightlife-focused, Fourteenth Street corridor.

It has been a pleasure to serve the Logan Circle neighborhood and to be apart of the city’s burgeoning specialty coffee scene. While the ownership and staff are excited to move on to other opportunities, they will miss their devoted customers.”

Mid City Caffe, located above Miss Pixie’s (also likely moving in 2012) at 1626 14th Street, NW, opened up back in Aug. ’09.

Coffee fans will now have to head to Peregrine which opened up down the block at 1718 14th St, NW in May ’11.

Do you guys think that the neighborhood couldn’t support both Peregrine and Mid City or do you think “the second-story location outside the downtown core” was Mid City’s downfall?